Note to the Readers: Pictures may be late in coming, unfortunately the internet is incredibly slow and they take forever to upload, and seeing as we lose sleep to write and upkeep this blog, I've decided I don't want to lose THAT much sleep for the pictures. We'll upload them when we can... and thanks for your patience and understanding.
Today was amazing. No really, it was wickedly amazing! We started the day with an included breakfast at our hotel. Afterwards, we got ready for the day and disembarked on yet another adventure. Today's goal, master the London Underground, or the tube as they call it.
We are only a block from the Paddington Station Underground, so we made our way towards that. Once we got into the underground we had to get our tickets. It was a little bit of a chore, we stood in line at the kiosks and then, after about 10 minutes of waiting in line, and even less time spent trying to find out which ticket was the right ticket for us, we moved to a different line with a live person at the end. We got to the front and decided that we should get the 7 day pass for zones 1 and 2. Even though it sounds as if this underground strike is going to happen (which really puts a damper on London travel for us), our passes still work for the bus systems. Now if this strike happens, and we have to end up taking the bus, I hope beyond all hope that I won't have any chapters similar to my bus stories from south america. Some of you may already know, and for those of you that don't, check out my other blog for a good laugh.
Anyway, we got our passes and proceeded through the entrance and down to the tube. It was incredibly fast, efficient, relatively cheap, and extremely easy to use. Seriously, if anyone is looking to visit London, and you should really consider it, take the tube. If they aren't on strike it is the fastest way to get around London. Granted you don't see as much as you would if you had taken the bus, or walked, but you save valuable time for more sight seeing. Just remember to 'mind the gap'.
Our first stop today was Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. It is free admission (just remember to donate a little something to help maintain and upkeep their buildings!), so we walked into the Gallery and meandered through the rooms, looking at some very impressive 14-19th century artwork. After a little time, we decided to get out and walk. We walked up to Piccadilly Circus area, perused the shops and restaurants, people watched a little bit, and continued our walk. We made to an area where it looked like a movie was being filmed, then we walked across a square and made it to the Horse Guard Parade, just in time to see the changing of the horse guards. It was something else.
From there we made our way towards the Thames River (pronounced Tems). We got our first look at the London Eye, the Parliament Building and Big Ben's Clock! We decided we wanted to do the Eye first, perhaps get our bearings on this massive city. Now for those of you who don't know, there are a lot, and I mean A LOT of people that have done, are doing, and will do the London Eye. There is a building across from the Eye, that is where you get in a line (about 35 minutes or so) and purchase your ticket, just to go back across the street and get in the same line you just were in to get on the Eye! It seemed really odd to me to do it that way, but what do I really know about lines (well except that I seem to be in one a lot of the time). The long wait was well worth it. The views from the Eye are amazing, and the London Skyline is quite enormous. The rotation lasts about 30 minutes or so and from there we continued on towards Big Ben and the Parliament building. We didn't stop for too long, instead we made our way towards Buckingham Palace. We were to late for the changing of the guard (it's at 11:30 am or so) but we saw the queen's guards and the royal palace. Honestly (and don't tell the queen I said this), it wasn't SUPER impressive. It really was like seeing the white house for the first time. I just remember thinking, 'that is the White House?!? It's TINY'. And now I've gone and not only offending the Queen of England, but the President of the United States, if either of you are reading this, I'm sure the insides of your building are much more luxurious and full of history, and if you'd like to extend an invitation to either one, I'd be more than happy to change my opinion.
From Buckingham Palace, we went back to the Hotel to get dressed up for our evening. We got ready, got back on the underground, and went to Victoria Station. We went to a good ole pub for dinner and tried several different local brews, and then took off down the street to get ready for the main event of the evening. WICKED! I got my mother and I 3 row seats, center stage, tickets for Broadway's Wicked tonight. I've seen it a few times already, but never that close to the stage. It was, like all broadway shows I've seen so far, incredible. I was awe struck throughout the show. After that we came back to the hotel, and now I must get ready for bed. It's already almost midnight and my mother has to still write her chapter for the night. We have an early-ish start tomorrow, we're going on a tour of London, with a Londoner. Until then...
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